1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for the ultrasonic inspection of a length of test material such as a railroad rail and, more specifically, to ultrasonic inspection performed with ultrasonic transducing means emitting a beam of ultrasonic energy from within sealed wheel means containing a coupling fluid therein and having a flexible cylindrical surface member transparent to the ultrasonic beam and arranged for rolling contact along the test material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various ultrasonic inspection units are known to the art for rolling contact with a length of material to be tested. One particularly advantageous example of an ultrasonic testing apparatus, disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,375, has enabled rail testing to be performed rapidly and with more reliable detection of defects. Despite this advance, however, still more enhanced performance is desirable to detect a wider variety of defects and smaller defects.